Public Journalism

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Transcript of Public Journalism

Public Journalism Project Sonoma County GO LOCAL and Sustaining Technologies Supported Quality of Life Index Quality of LifeAttributes Economics Environment and Natural Resources The Individual and Relationships Transportation Health and well-being Food Governance and Government Public JournalismLens of Responsibility Structure Presents and framescontext "Quality of Life" Reporting Quality of Life progress(or lack of) toward objectives Define 'News' Events that are happening that impact Quality of Life objectives. Continuity of news Relevancy to Quality of Life Generates Community Dialogue Journalism synthesizes dialogue into meaningful presentations for consumption, reflection, interaction, analysis and interpretation. Prediction MarketHosting Prediction Markets serve as engagement and feedback mechanism for a community. Answers, "How are we doing?" Prediction Markets represent the 'consequence' of a string of events, which provides context for news stories. Ideal: Clean air, conservative water policies, development and use of local energy supplies, ample green zones of parks and community farms Ideal:Abundant local food supply through grocers, farmers' markets, restaurants. Ideal:Opportunities for participation in neighborhoods, ample community events, family assistance counseling and education. Public Journalismand theTypes of Local News Coverage News of Verification Degrees of Complexity:Bearing witnessFollow-up (continuity)ExplanatoryInvestigative Advocacy Attributes and StandardsFactual-basedAuthors identfied; disclosures of affiliationsOpinion labeled (may be factual, but not always aimed at whole truth) Both types ( verification and advocacy) can be very helpful in community decision-making. Following stories through to provide context for outcomes. News are things that happen and impact Quality of Life Political philosopher Michael Sandel has written that "when politics goes well, we can know a good in common that we cannot know alone." In my own thinking about press and politics I have returned to Sandel's notion again and again, for it seems to me an ideal description of what journalists should commit themselves to—not this proposal or that plan, not the liberal agenda or conservative cause, but a certain kind of discourse that permits the political community to understand itself in a better, fuller way.

Journalists should try to make politics "go well", so that it produces a discussion in which the polity learns more about itself, its current problems, its real divisions, its place in time, its prospects for the future. By their commitment to such a discussion—and the sort of politics that would produce it—journalists might distinguish themselves from other actors and reclaim some of their lost authority in the American public sphere."Jay Rosen (1993) Politics Vision, and the Press: Toward a Public Agenda for Journalism Attributes and Standards:AccuracyBalanceAccountabilityIndependenceAuthentic objectivity What are the community ideals? Those are the topics to be covered. Journalism is an instigator and facilitator of dialogue;Creates space for public dialogue. Ideal:Ample bike paths, reliable public transport, alternative fuel development Ideal:Access to healthcare for physical and psychological well-being for all, access to commons for recreation Ideal:True transparency, issue-focused politics, rules and regs to promote all quality of life imperatives, public dialogue on issues. Ideal:Full employment; prosperous locally-owned businesses, community investment portfolio